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Air Combat Command, Kessel Run Ink User Agreement; Jacque Torson Quoted
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Air Combat Command, Kessel Run Ink User Agreement; Jacque Torson Quoted

The U.S. Air Force’s Kessel Run software development unit and Air Combat Command have signed a user agreement to facilitate software updates and advance DevSecOps adoption, Federal News Network reported Friday.

Jacque Torson, test and integration chief at Kessel Run, told FNN that the user agreement marks a break from the conventional acquisitions process.

“It gives us access to the users themselves very early in the design phases. It also gives us access to their primary stakeholders and ACC. It allows them to be an integral part of the design from the very beginning. It doesn’t stop there, they don’t just provide input on the design at the beginning, they are there every step of the way as their users are using whatever capability we can push out the door as fast as we can do it and providing feedback constantly,” Torson said of the user agreement.

Feedback from users enables Kessel Run to advance software patches and integrate new features. Torson highlighted the importance of user feedback.

“That feedback instead of profit margins, really the feedback comes from the users themselves,” Torson said. “Their adoption of the software is really how we are measuring success. If we’re pushing out something and the users are like, ‘I’m not going to touch that I’m not going to use it,’ then we are on the wrong path.”

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DOE Eyes Second Scale-Up Biofuel, Bioproduct Research Funding Opportunity in December
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DOE Eyes Second Scale-Up Biofuel, Bioproduct Research Funding Opportunity in December

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is planning to release a second funding opportunity announcement (FOA) around December for the development of scaled-up biofuel and bioproduct refineries. 

DOE said Friday that the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)-funded Scale-Up FOA will cover applicants currently planning the design of their bioproduct technologies or those preparing for the construction of refineries.

According to a notice of intent, the FOA will support efforts focusing on the production of low-greenhouse gas fuel for the aviation, long-haul trucking and marine industries in line with BETO’s goal of reducing fuel prices and air pollutant emissions.

The first Scale-Up FOA, which took place in early 2021, resulted in 11 research and development projects winning $33 million in funding.

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George Mason University Wins DoD Contract for Research; GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn Quoted
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George Mason University Wins DoD Contract for Research; GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn Quoted

Center for Government Contracting in the George Mason University School of Business announced on Monday that the center has received a $671,000 contract from the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)).

Under the DOD contract, GMU’s Center for Government Contracting will review the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and defense laboratories’ contracting and intellectual property management policies as well as their effects on the commercialization of dual-use technology.

“We are thrilled to have been selected for this important study on intellectual property practices for DoD and we very much look forward to working with our colleagues across the University on this effort,” said GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Center for Government Contracting and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient.

The Laboratories and Personnel Office in the OUSD(R&E) is the sponsor for this study, which was required under the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

Back in August, GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn advocated that the Department of Defense should continue its focus on intellectual property and security and address challenges related to those two factors to safeguard and further advance innovation.

“In the case of security, if a program is being conducted in robotics, you’ve got government personnel, university personnel and industry personnel working on it and the proprietary information is compromised by a cyberattack or some kind of espionage and that will end up … reducing the military advantage for the United States,” McGinn added.

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DISA Officials: Industry’s Hand Needed to Support Agency Optimization Plans
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DISA Officials: Industry’s Hand Needed to Support Agency Optimization Plans

Top Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) leaders recently requested the industry to help optimize its existing systems that would result in improved agency operations, FedScoop reported Friday.

Officials said in DISA’s Forecast to Industry event that the agency prefers to bring its existing technologies to their maximum potential rather than scrapping current efforts for new systems.

During the event, leaders outlined the agency’s optimization plans such as implementing zero-trust security architecture, adopting artificial intelligence for business processes and using new tools for software license management.

Steven Wallace, DISA’s chief technology officer, shared that his organization is also interested in a number of emerging technologies such as quantum-proof encryption, data fabrics and identity management that could support command and control and communications systems and other core mission areas.

Aside from Wallace, other attendees included DISA Chief Information Officer Roger Greenwell and DISA Operations and Infrastructure Center Director Don Means.

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NIST Seeks Comments on 2nd Draft Publication on Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management Practices
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NIST Seeks Comments on 2nd Draft Publication on Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management Practices

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking feedback on the second draft of a special publication about cybersecurity supply chain risk management practices. 

The updated draft of the SP 800-161 Revision 1, Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations includes audience profiles, an updated structure and two new appendices focused on federal agencies.

One of the appendices offers additional guidance for federal agencies with regard to risk response, supply chain risk assessment factors, risk severity levels and assessment documentation.

The second appendix titled Response to Executive Order 14028’s Call to Publish Preliminary Guidelines or Enhancing Software Supply Chain Security outlines industry standards, practices and tools in response to directives stipulated in Section 4(c) of the cybersecurity executive order signed in May.

Public comments are due Dec. 3rd. NIST plans to issue the final draft of the publication during the third quarter of 2022.

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Government Issues Document on National Cyber Director’s Mission
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Government Issues Document on National Cyber Director’s Mission

The government has released a strategic intent document that highlights the Office of the National Cyber Director‘s (ONCD) efforts to promote cybersecurity in the country.

The document states that ONCD will work to promote government-wide cyber coherency, improve public-private cyber collaboration, align resources with cyber efforts and support all initiatives to bolster cyber resiliency, the White House said.

The office will work with partners at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Security Council (NSC) to realize these efforts.

ONCD will revolve its work around national and federal cybersecurity, budget review and assessment, technology and ecosystem security, planning and incident response, workforce development and stakeholder engagement.

The government established ONCD in January. Chris Inglis serves as the country’s first national cyber director. 

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Jacobs to Acquire BlackLynx; CEOSteve Demetriou Quoted
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Jacobs to Acquire BlackLynx; CEOSteve Demetriou Quoted

Jacobs has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BlackLynx, a Rockville, Maryland-based software engineering firm, in a transaction whose financial terms have not been disclosed.

Under the acquisition, Jacobs will leverage BlackLynx’s artificial intelligence/machine learning, advanced edge processing and collection automation capabilities to strengthen its cyber, intelligence and digital solutions portfolio and expand its reach in the intelligence community market, the company said Monday.

The transaction notably broadens Jacobs’ position within the Intelligence Community to 14 out of 18 agencies.

Steve Demetriou, CEO and chair of Jacobs, said BlackLynx’s embedded analytics platform will help the company to process data more quickly and efficiently in support of federal government customer’s missions as edge computing continues to gain important ground across all domains.

“The combination of Jacobs’ deep domain knowledge and BlackLynx’s next-generation technology will unlock new opportunities to create a more connected and sustainable world,” Demetriou added.

Additionally, BlackLynx CEO Doug Wolfe said the business combination will create a “new trajectory” for BlackLynx’s software-enabled services and provide new opportunities for its employees and community partners.

The acquisition follows Jacobs’ recent wins of an $8.3 billion Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract from the Department of Energy and seven pools on the GSA’s ASTRO IDIQ.

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NASA Administration, Office Reorganizes to Align With National Space Priorities; Bill Nelson Quoted
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NASA Administration, Office Reorganizes to Align With National Space Priorities; Bill Nelson Quoted

Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, has announced new leadership roles and an office merger as part of the agency’s reorganization strategy in response to the Biden Administration’s space priorities.

As part of the reorganization, NASA’s Office of Strategic Engagements and Assessments has merged with the Office of the Chief Technologist to create the newly established Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy (OTPS), the company said Monday.

Nelson said that the newly formed OTPS will leverage “cutting-edge technology, strategy and policy” to ensure the agency’s continued success at a critical time in global space exploration.

He added, “These leadership roles are critical for both sustaining and advancing NASA’s missions, and this team will guide us on our significant work ahead as we continue to take care of our people, advance our technologies, make our skies safer, enable groundbreaking scientific discoveries, protect our home planet, and push humanity’s exploration farther into the solar system than ever before.”

Dr. Bhavya Lal, who previously served as NASA’s senior advisor for budget and finance, will now lead the newly formed OTPS in her new position of associate administrator, reporting to NASA’s Deputy Administrator, Pam Melroy.

Douglas Terrier, the agency’s former chief technologist, will assume the new position of associate director for vision and strategy at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Lal will serve as acting chief technologist in the interim.

Former Deputy Associate Administrator Melanie Saunders will now serve as chief resilience officer for NASA and will lead the agency’s COVID-19 response efforts such as its Future of Work program.

Casey Swails will transition from her previous role as NASA’s senior advisor and chief of staff for the associate administrator to the new position of deputy associate administrator for business operations. Swails will also act as the principal advisor to Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. 

The agency has also tapped Tom Cremins to serve as Associate Administrator for space security interests. Cremins previously held the role of associate administrator for strategic engagement and assessments.

These shifts continue NASA’s recent reorganization efforts, following the split of the agency’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into the two separate organizations of Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and Space Operations Mission Directorate.

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Colin Kahl: DOD to Create New Climate-Focused Role
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Colin Kahl: DOD to Create New Climate-Focused Role

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said the Pentagon plans to appoint an official responsible for overseeing climate change response, Defense One reported Monday. 

Kahl said his team will undergo organizational changes to address climate-related issues and align its documents with the corresponding response efforts.

He said the Department of Defense might announce the new climate-focused senior official in the coming weeks. The undersecretary said DOD may also include climate-related efforts in bilateral and multilateral defense engagements.

“You can expect the Department of Defense to be there when the agenda suits the topics where our expertise I think can be most brought to bear,” he said regarding DOD’s lack of presence at the Conference of the Parties, a global climate change conference scheduled to take place from Nov. 9th to 19th at Glasgow, U.K.

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Former Peraton Exec Trey Theimer Joins Serco as Chief Growth Officer & SVP; CEO Dave Dacquino Quoted
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Former Peraton Exec Trey Theimer Joins Serco as Chief Growth Officer & SVP; CEO Dave Dacquino Quoted

Trey Theimer, a 20-year business development veteran for military and civilian agencies, has been appointed as chief growth officer and senior vice president for Serco, effective November 8, 2021.

In her new position, Theimer will oversee Serco’s growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions, as well as business development operations such as market intelligence, capture and proposals management and identification of business opportunities, the company said Monday.

She will report directly to two-time Wash100 Award winner David Dacquino, chairman and CEO of Serco.

“Trey Theimer has proven success in winning new business and contributing to accelerated company growth,” Dacquino said.

Dacquino added that the new executive “is a great fit with our culture, which values innovation, collaboration, and inclusiveness,” and will help guide Serco in its next phase of growth.

Theimer joins Serco from Peraton, where she served as vice president of growth, citizen security and public services following Peraton’s May 2021 acquisition of Perspecta, where Theimer previously served as vice president of business development and capture.

Prior to her time at Perspecta/Peraton, Theimer led business development and strategy efforts for Computer Sciences Corp’s defense and intelligence unit and served as the director for Accenture’s Department of Homeland Security account.

Additionally, Theimer serves on the board of directors for both the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council and the National Defense Industrial Association.

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